I would say "didn't do it any favors". I'm not Wiccan but I've studied witchcraft and the occult all my life and I have several friends who are Craft. (There is a lot of paganism, and a lot of witchcraft, that are not Wicca, that's just one particular way of doing it, and the previous comment talking about the origins of Wicca is spot-on.)
I wouldn't say I was offended by this film, more like annoyed. But I think that most people watching it, even if they understand that the special effects and so forth are way over the top and unrealistic, are likely to get the wrong idea of what is involved in Wicca or in real witchcraft. I could see somebody's mom warning them not to check out Wicca after seeing this film.
The film seemed to be a kind of updated Reefer Madness with witchcraft in the place of dope, especially in the portrayal of Fairuza Balk's character, who ends up in an insane asylum.
There is no one book that has everything, especially since there are zillions of different kinds of witchcraft and magic. It's a very personal thing, which is one reason witches keep their own books. There are some very good introductory books like Paul Huson's Mastering Witchcraft, but in reality Sarah would have come out of that store with about six or eight books, not one. And all the books would say different things.
There is no such god or entity as "Manon". Wiccan belief is centered around a Goddess who creates and permeates everything, and a male fertility god like Pan. The Goddess primarily runs the show, and the portrayal of a male god giving the girls their powers is inconsistent with Wicca. Non-Wiccan magic might not invoke any gods or spirits by name. In the old pagan sense, it doesn't make sense for women to ask to be empowered by a male deity. (Look up "Monica Sjoo", she wrote the best on this subject.)
The invocation ceremony had some real stuff to it, mostly the four directions/elements part. And there really are love and beauty spells, they just don't work like that.
Take the scars that Bonnie had. A real spell to get rid of them might have the result that Bonnie "just happens" to hear about a new treatment by a doctor who wants volunteers for a test, and she does, and it works.
(The "just happened" thing is key. One of the best books on how witchcraft actually works is Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth. But you didn't hear that from me.)
A lot of real magic involves changing yourself, your thought patterns or attitudes. It is very subtle and takes a long time. A lot of it is giving nature a push in the right direction. Also, changing your appearance through ordinary means like jewelry, dress or makeup counts as witchcraft. It's "glamor and fascination" and is used by both men and women.
I was also annoyed with the fact that the film didn't show the good you could do with magic, like healing sick people or helping someone get a job. One of the most famous rituals was done to stop Hitler from invading England in 1940. And overall, the film was badly acted with stereotype characters. I notice Fairuza Balk's career went down the toilet after she made this.
But was it the worst witch film ever made? Nah. At least it shows kids they shouldn't misuse it.
Don't forget your tsvets!
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Sly_Vaping_Guy
12 years ago
Molly-31,
The creators hired a Wiccan consulstant. Originally each girl was going to call deity by whatever name they wanted, henc 4 different names. Rochelle was going to call deity Noah! LOL The Wiccan consultant decided that they should all use the same name and that that the name should be a made-up name so as not to use a real name of a deity. One of the girls, can't remember, was using the name "Manon" which is a french female name from a movie. The Wiccan consultant thought that "Manon" would be good to use for all the girls. Alos, Manon on the movie is not male or female. We refer to it as a he out of habit to genderize things. Mannon is "Spirit", the "god" of new agers, hence the term "Invoking THE Spirit", which is akin to the Native America "Great Spirit".
Every Girl With A Henna Tattoo And A Spice Rack Thinks She's A Sister To The Dark Ones.
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VWstarwars
12 years ago
It was a bit of both in this movie, real stuff mixed with fantasy/fiction. I loved how initially their powers seem to work in natural ways or explainable ways. Neve Campbell's character has the terrible scars all over her back and keeps praying for their "God" to take her scars . . . so her mother later takes her to doctors doing experimental therapy for scar removal and it WORKS! So it happens strangely, yet there is another explanation - but did their "God" actually put these things in motion to work for her? The Rachel True character wants the bully to leave her alone, so the bully character gets some kind of disorder making her hair fall out, which also relates to the bully making fun of her "nappy" hair(There also seems to be a scene missing in this subplot where the bully says hello to her at the party and then we cut to upstairs.) The Fairuza Balk character doesn't want to be struggling and poor anymore, so her stepfather dies leaving a large sum of money to her and her mother(Sort of reminds me of "The Monkey's Paw.") Each one happens in increasingly more "magical" ways, or obviously connected to their magic workings until we reach the third act where it is an all out "witch" battle and it is evident that these girls can do all kinds of magic, but magic that is fantasy. It was cool that it happened gradually, because we also had earlier indicators that they could do these things with the "Light as a feather, stiff as a board" game where Rachel True levitates and Robin Tunney changing her hair and eye color with magic.
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abstract848
12 years ago
I think the concept of 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you' was represented extremely well.
'I GOT MOTHS! BIG MUTANT JUNKIE MOTHS!!'- Terri Dolittle (Jumping Jack Flash)
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